With schools closed and overseers unable to enter villages, Ivory Coast and Ghana have become worried that there may be a spike in child labor in this cocoa harvest season.

65% of the world’s cocoa comes from these two countries alone, with the production being fueled by child labor. Companies such as Hershey and Nestle have pledged to reduce the labor to no avail. Fairtrade Africa, a non-profit Organisation in Kenya, has claimed to have received reports of possible cases in Ivory Coast, cases they flagged to the government.

“In normal circumstances children are already vulnerable, and now they are not going to school. We don’t have access to those villages, we don’t know exactly what is happening, and we know that this is the mid-season harvesting period”

—Anne-Marie Yao a cocoa manager for Fairtrade Africa, said to the Reuters Foundation.

Due to the pandemic, numerous unfavorable situations for children have emerged. There is not enough staff on the ground in the cocoa harvest, and shelters that rescued children would usually be taken to are closed for the time being. It has been said that in the cocoa sector in Ghana and Ivory Coast, there are around 2 million children at work, some working for their parents and others being victims of child trafficking.

There is still no concrete evidence of the child labor increasing, but there is still some time to go in this pandemic and the possibility of it rising is a very real one. Nick Weatherill, executive director of the International Cocoa Initiative, has said that if the current situation continues, an increase in child labor is extremely likely.

In previous public health crises increased rates of abuse and exploitation of children have been recorded. For example, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa caused spikes in child labor, sexual abuse, teenage pregnancies, and neglect, according to UNICEF.

There are a few things that could help prevent the increase, such as cash transfers to households, eliminating the need for a child to work and provide for their family. Another way to help would be if teachers, who are usually the first to notice signs of child abuse, were able to stay in touch with their students and report anything out of the ordinary.

Governments could also successfully contribute to the reduction fo this problem. By training health, education and child services staff on Coronavirus child protection risks, a safety net of sorts would be established. West African authorities should also secure the delivery of necessary health services and provide financial or material assistance to families who have been faced with reduced incomes.

Just last week, Ivory Coast’s national anti-trafficking committee published a statement in which they warned parents that child labor is illegal and punishable by law.

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